“I just wanted to compete, I wanted to show my skill and my abilities.”
These were the thoughts of 17 year old Jakub Milota as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean en route to Sydney, Nova Scotia from his hometown of Ostrava, Czechia. The long trip overseas came with a difficult good-bye: leaving behind his parents and younger sister.
Selected by the Cape Breton Eagles in the first round of the 2023 CHL Import Draft, Milota was the second goalie off the board, a pick behind fellow goalie and countryman Jakub Vondras, a Carolina Hurricanes draft pick.
”There was more interest than just Cape (Breton), there were also teams from the OHL and WHL,” Milota said. “But Cape had the most interest in me. I knew it was a great organization and I wanted to be a part of it. I was happy they drafted me.”
Milota wanted to turn pro in Czechia but felt he wasn’t developed enough to get the amount of starts he’d need, which made the decision to report to Sydney even easier. “The CHL has the best junior leagues in the world. I wanted to compete against the best players my age. I wanted to prove I’m one of the best.”
The Eagles play out of Centre 200 (C200), which is located in the downtown area of Sydney. This location makes the Eagles the easternmost team in the CHL; 4 hours from the closest team and longtime rivals, the Halifax Mooseheads.
“It’s a lot worse than I thought it was gonna be, I hate the Quebec trips,” Milota laughed when asked about playing for the most travelled team in the Q. “But it’s part of the whole package and you have to get used to It, and that’s what I did. Now I know what it looks like so it’s better for me mentally, I’m prepared.”
Those long hours on the bus combined with their distance from Quebec has made the Eagles all too familiar with the troubles of recruiting players. It was the team’s east coast location that made the biggest impact when making the jump to Canada. “The time difference between Czechia and here is only five hours, which is really different from the WHL which is up to 9 hours. It was a win-win for me. I can call home to my family and friends.”
The easy line of communication back to Czechia has made the jump easier for Milota, allowing him to rarely feel homesick.
Aside from having to get accustomed to a new country, the difference in ice surfaces can be a difficulty for players coming from overseas. Milota was outspoken about his love of playing on bigger ice surfaces. Transitioning to the smaller ice in North America wasn’t difficult, but it didn’t come without its hiccups. “It’s a different type of hockey, the ice is smaller. I had a pretty good preseason but my first few regular season games weren’t that good. After a few games I felt more comfortable. You have to learn from it.”
Come the end of 2023-24, Milota made 33 appearances for the Eagles, finishing with a record of 18-11-1, to go along with a 2.82 GAA and a .905 SV%. His save percentage tied him for ninth in the league with Drummondville Voltigeurs goalie Riley Mercer, who’d go on to capture a QMJHL title later that season.
Ahead of both of them was Eagles starter Nicolas Ruccia , who finished sixth with a .910SV%.
Ruccia, an established veteran of over 150 games, helped Milota take that next step. “He was an older guy. I took it as a competition. We were really good friends but it’s always a competition here. I wanted to push myself to get starts.”
During NHL pre-draft interviews, the topic of his puck handling ability came up often. When asked, Milota gave himself a 9/10 ranking, something he picked up in practice and credits Ruccia with. “He’s a strong puck handler. I took a lot of puck handling skills from him. When I was younger I wasn’t a big puck handler. I got better throughout last year.”
Those skills helped make Milota an attractive option for the 2024 NHL Draft, where he wound up being the second selection of the fourth round (99th overall) when the Nashville Predators called his name. “I didn’t talk to them that much. I had a lot of conversations here with Canadian scouts, the first time a Nashville scout reached out to me was a Czech scout after I was back home after the season.”
The Preds weren’t the only team interested in Milota’s services but they did strike first. “There were twenty two teams which was a surprise for me, I was happy there was interest in me. Some were more interested in me, some less. Nashville was one of the most interested.”
Ranked as the 18th goalie on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, Milota cut the list in half being the ninth goalie to come off the board. Jumping ahead of Gatineau’s Zach Pelletier (ranked eighth) and Moncton’s Keegan Warren (ranked 12th) who both went undrafted.
“They took me for a reason, they trust me.”
Milota has some big future goals but prefers to keep things as simple as he can, trying to improve daily thanks to his development team. Nashville goalie coach Mitch Korn and goalie development coach Jason Baron work with Eagles goalie coaches Scott Gouthro and Blade Mann-Dixon to continue hitting those development goals. ”It’s a process. The best thing you can do is not focus on the big goal, but on the small goals that lead you to the big goal. Improve everyday, doesn’t matter if it’s a game or a practice. Just get better everyday.”
At only 18, Milota is now the Eagles starter after an offseason trade saw Ruccia traded to the Charlottetown Islanders. He’s excited for the playing time but knows he’s being counted on by his teammates. “Every time I play, I’m trying to put the team over me. My key goal every game, doesn’t matter what game it is, is to give your team a chance to win. That’s what I’m focusing on every game.”
With his play, Milota has put himself on Czechia’s radar for the 2025 world juniors. Representing his country at the upcoming tournament is a challenge he happily looks forward to. “You’re just trying to prove to yourself, prove that you deserve to be on the nomination and be there.” He’ll be battling alongside returning goalie Michael Hrabal, who the now defunct Arizona Coyotes selected 38th overall in 2023.
Although Milota keeps it simple, he’s still looking towards the future. He knows a strong season with Cape Breton will get Nashville’s attention as he hopes to sign a contract and eventually turn pro. Once he makes that jump, he can finally ditch his league mandated dangler, something he’s looking forward to. “I’m not a fan,” he said while chuckling. “I know it’s a risk but I’d prefer not to have it. It doesn’t matter if it’s Milwaukee or any other league, I’ll be taking it off.”
by Brett Lewis
Brett Lewis was born and raised in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He has 20+ years of playing goalie and watching the position has given him a keen eye for the game.